Despite only shooting 31 per cent from the field — and a dreadful 3-for-20 in the first quarter — the Hurricanes managed to grab a hard-fought 87-86 overtime victory over the Magic in NBL Canada action Friday night at the Moncton Coliseum.

“It was a really tough defensive battle all night long; every possession was a battle,” a relieved Mike Leslie, the Hurricanes’ head coach, said following the game. “There was nothing easy anywhere for either team at both ends of the floor.

“We shot the ball very poorly overall for the game. Thirty-one per cent for the game is not what we want. In the first quarter alone, we shot 15 per cent. But we were only down five in the third quarter. I said to the guys, ‘you know what, we’re OK. We are down five on the road and have played very poorly.’ We hung with it and fortunately were able to get it to overtime and Billy White scored the buckets in the end.”

White scored six of his 18 points in the extra frame for the Hurricanes (16-9). Tyrone Watson netted 19 points while Antoine Mason had 17 for Halifax, which only hit 5 of 28 three-point attempts.

Terry Thomas tallied a game-high 25 points and Corey Allmond had 20 for the Magic (16-13). Moncton only shot 33 per cent in the game and missed on chances at the end of regulation and overtime to pull out the win.

“I’m so glad we didn’t waste a good defensive effort just because we didn’t shoot the ball well,” Leslie said. “I’m so happy with their defensive work and they were rewarded with the win.”

Highlanders 112, Storm 110: At Charlottetown, Cape Breton moved out of the basement of the Atlantic Division following a road win over P.E.I. on Thursday.

Tydran Beaty had 23 points and a team-high 16 rebounds for the Highlanders (11-15), who move a game ahead of the Storm (10-16) for fourth in the division.

The Highlanders return to action Sunday afternoon (2 p.m.) when they host Halifax.